Tag: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Fourth-place regular-season Conference USA finisher Marshall bounced Wichita State, a team ranked in the Top 15 much of the 2017-18 college basketball season, from the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Jon Elmore brought the thunder!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/A3lJqUQxDu — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018 This shouldn't be that much of a surprise, really. Marshall…

A half-decade's passed since ESPN ended its Bracket Buster weekend, yet plenty of college basketball fans long for the mid-major showcase's return. Bracket Buster ceased operations for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the logistical challenges of scheduling non-conference games in the final month of the regular season. As I brainstormed…

College football's final stretch begins in earnest Saturday with a full slate ushering in the 2017-18 bowl season. The first day of postseason action features five FBS bowl games, an FCS bowl, and an FCS semifinal (though that's not included in the Six-Pack). Purists might argue that the postseason has become oversaturated, but who can…

Wisconsin basketball, treading water against a remarkably difficult non-conference schedule, could not afford a home loss to Conference USA opponent Western Kentucky. Thanks to one of the worst officiating decisions I have ever witnessed, the Badgers escaped with a win Wednesday, 81-80. Everything about this call against the Hilltoppers, which led to the game-winning foul…

When 5-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American Mitchell Robinson decided he will skip college and spend the school year working out in preparation for the NBA Draft, Western Kentucky lost the most talented player in school history before he’d ever played a game. And maybe, just maybe, the Hilltoppers are better off for it. Only the…

Perhaps more than any other conference, realignment has fundamentally altered the look of Conference USA. C-USA played an immediately role in discrediting the Bowl Championship Series when, in 1998, former member Tulane was denied an at-large bid despite finishing with an undefeated record. The Shaun King-led Green Wave were the first in a line of…

The inception of the College Football Playoff gave programs from non-power conferences new incentive with the introduction of an automatic bid into one of the prestigious New Year's Six bowl games. The Group of Five conferences have several worthy challengers for a New Year's Six bid, but it's likely only one will land in one…

Thursday nights take on a much different vibe in adulthood than in those four(-plus) magical years of college. It's really no surprise, then, that Thursday night football takes on a much more fun aura when played by college kids, and the version involving pros is often a joyless slog. On college campuses nationwide, Thursday marks…

The first full offering of college football in the 2016 campaign featured some close, and strange finishes, so who cares if points were in short supply? After years of games turning into a hybrid of football and hoops -- Grassketball, if you will -- some defense was a little refreshing. How often is it we…

The time is upon us: Opening Night 2016. College football is back! ...OK, college football's been back for a little less than a week now, with Cal-Hawaii and Charleston Southern-North Dakota State kicking off the season last weekend. But, for all intents and purposes, college football is REALLY back Thursday! Opening Night isn't as loaded…

Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher both came out in favor of a college football commissioner; a figurehead who could bring a level of uniformity to the sport. Recent news underscores the value of universal governance, from the benign -- the flap over satellite camps, for example -- to the serious, like coach-imposed transfer restrictions. A…

Congratulations on enduring another work week. To celebrate, enjoy some football trick videos, inspired by San Jose State quarterback Kenny Potter. San Jose State's official athletic account tweeted the following clip of Potter launching a pass from the back row of Spartan Stadium, into a trash can below. We see you @kpot_5: Drop it in…

College football coaches have never been under greater pressure to win more, and win sooner, than ever before. Last decade, the grace period for building a winning program was roughly four-to-six years, depending on the situation a head coach inherited. That's enough time for a recruiting cycle to play out, from signing day to Senior…

Opening weekend for the 2015 bowl season did not disappoint. Kenneth Dixon became college football's new touchdown king in New Orleans. One Mountain West team, San Jose State, rallied in Orlando, while another, New Mexico, fell just short in Albuquerque. Appalachian State's torrid comeback in Montgomery sealed the Mountaineers' first bowl win in program history,…

Conference championship weekend marks the last hurrah of the college football regular season. Cue the music. What a wild, fun ride it's been from the last weekend of August, when Montana and North Dakota State officially kicked off the 2015 season, to this point in December. Coincidentally, Montana plays North Dakota State again in Saturday's…